Friday, December 17, 2021
CapitalPress.com 5
Ranchers say ‘lab grown’;
startups say ‘cultivated’
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Companies
developing
protein products from ani-
mal cells favor labeling their
goods “cultivated,” a descrip-
tion opposed by the National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
The Alliance for Meat,
Poultry and Seafood Innova-
tion argues that terms such
as “cultivated hamburger”
and “cultivated chicken nug-
gets” captures its members’
methods.
The cattlemen’s associa-
tion says its research shows
consumers will confuse “cul-
tivated” with “raised on
a ranch.” It suggests “lab
grown,” a term the startup
industry dismisses as deroga-
tory and inaccurate once com-
panies gear up to commercial
production.
The USDA Food Safety and
Inspection Service on Dec. 7
posted hundreds of comments
on what to call meat or poul-
try made from “cultured ani-
mal cells,” a term used as a
placeholder.
USDA solicited the com-
ments to prepare for propos-
ing regulations to inform con-
sumers once the products hit
the market.
Upside Foods, founded in
2015 as Memphis Meats, says
there are more than 70 compa-
nies in the world developing
cultivated protein.
Animal-rights and environ-
mental groups have aligned
with the emerging industry,
urging regulators to not dis-
courage consumers from try-
ing the new protein source.
Meanwhile, farmers are
defending their turf. The
American Farm Bureau com-
mented that it was “impera-
tive” that labels include “cell
based” or “cell cultured.”
The National Chicken
Council and National Pork
Producers Council also sug-
gested some variation of “cell
cultured” or “cell cultivated.”
Neither
the
cattle-
Bussmann Cranberries
Cranberries at harvest time.
Family cranberry dispute results
in $2.5 million jury verdict
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A dispute among cousins over an
Oregon cranberry farm has resulted in
a $2.5 million jury verdict against the
brothers who manage the operation.
The legal dispute centers on the man-
agement of Bussmann Cranberries LLC,
a family farm and processing operation
in Curry County operated by brothers
James and George Bussmann.
The brothers were sued by four of
their cousins who own shares in the
company but don’t manage it: sisters
Sara Strain, Elizabeth Potter, Jennifer
Isenhart and Mary Kistner.
A representative of the defendants
said there are still pending legal issues in
the case and a fi nal judgment hasn’t yet
been issued, so “it would be premature
to a give a statement at this time.”
According to the complaint, James
and George Bussmann own roughly 85
acres of cranberry bogs that are separate
from the joint 34-acre family operation.
The complaint alleged that for a
decade, those other farms sold fruit to
the joint family company at infl ated
prices, which served “no apparent busi-
ness purpose” other than to enrich the
brothers.
The joint family “limited liability
company,” or LLC, has been misman-
aged to help businesses owned by the
defendant brothers, the plaintiff s said.
“Although the LLC has operated at a
profi t in the past, and is capable of oper-
ating at a profi t, neither plaintiff s nor the
other members have received any distri-
butions over 15 years,” they said. “Plain-
tiff s have realized no economic benefi t
from their membership in the LLC.”
The brothers forced the family busi-
ness to pay them “lump sum amounts,”
even though the joint company didn’t
receive “anything in exchange,” the
complaint said.
These “sham transactions” were con-
cealed with “false and misleading pur-
chase orders and accounting records” by
the brothers, who controlled the family
company’s books, the complaint said.
The lawsuit alleged the brothers com-
mingled their own assets with those of
the family company. The family assets
have been “disproportionately used” to
help the defendants’ separate businesses,
the complaint said.
The complaint claimed the broth-
ers have failed to disclose real estate
opportunities to the joint family com-
pany but nonetheless used its resources
to purchase that property for their own
businesses.
During the course of the legal dis-
pute, the brothers took control of a prop-
erty with water rights and then denied
water to the joint family farm, the com-
plaint said.
The complaint alleged the brothers
sought to deprive the joint family com-
pany of its biggest customer by trying to
convince it to buy cranberries from other
sources.
The plaintiff s claim the brothers have
acted with “malice” and last year sought
to dissolve the joint family company to
“force a sale” of its assets, intending for
their own businesses to buy them at “liq-
uidation prices.”
After a seven-day trial held in Coos
County Circuit Court last month, a jury
decided that James and George Bussmann
had breached contractual obligations and
committed fraud against their cousins,
unjustly enriching themselves.
The jury determined that the plaintiff s
are owed more than $700,000 in loans
that weren’t repaid, $680,000 in overpay-
ments for cranberries, $470,000 in exces-
sive expenses, and $680,000 related to a
real estate transaction.
An attorney for the plaintiff s said the
defendants will also owe roughly $1.3
million in interest that’s accumulated
since the damages occurred, known as
pre-judgment interest.
Ag groups worried about
restrictions on H-2A workers
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Two recent White House
proclamations
restricting
entry into the U.S. related to
COVID-19 has agriculture
groups worried the farm-
worker shortage will deepen
next year.
A Oct. 25 proclamation
limits entry into the U.S to
those who are fully vacci-
nated with a CDC-approved
vaccine. The exceptions to
that are limited.
A Nov. 26 proclamation
limits the travel of nonciti-
zens from several countries,
including South Africa, to
the U.S.
The American Farm
Bureau Federation and 60
other organizations voiced
their concerns this week in
a letter to Secretary of State
Antony Blinken and Secre-
tary of Homeland Security
Alejandro Mayorkas.
They requested the agen-
cies ensure an adequate
agricultural workforce by
exempting H-2A guestwork-
ers from the restrictions.
“Instead of imposing
travel bans that prevent crit-
ically needed H-2A work-
ers from traveling to Amer-
ican farms or lead to added
transportation costs that do
not achieve COVID miti-
gation goals, farmers, H-2A
workers, the Department of
Homeland Security and the
State Department should
work together to allow work-
ers taking appropriate health
and safety precautions to
travel to the United States
directly from their home
countries,” the groups said in
the letter.
The groups are particu-
larly concerned about restric-
tions on workers from South
Africa. U.S. agriculture
employs almost 7,000 H-2A
workers from the country.
Many arrive in the U.S. in
February, March and April.
“Considering this, the
State
Department
and
Department of Homeland
Security must act quickly to
ensure these valuable H-2A
workers can arrive on time
on American farms in the
coming months,” the groups
said.
The request for an exemp-
tion from the restrictions is
bolstered by the Cybersecu-
rity and Infrastructure Secu-
rity Agency designation of
food and agricultural workers
as essential during the pan-
demic, the letter said.
“While protecting our
nation from new variants
of COVID-19 is critically
important, it is in our national
interest to ensure production
of food, fuel and fi ber,” the
groups said.
Considering the severe
supply chain disruptions tak-
ing place, losing access to
key employees who originate
from the restricted countries
would further limit agricul-
ture’s ability to grow safe and
nutritious food, the letter said.
In addition, it is critical
the U.S. embassies in these
countries have the appropri-
ate resources to process H-2A
visas. If the process is not
functioning properly, work-
ers from restricted countries
would likely travel to nonre-
stricted countries and quaran-
tine for 14 days to gain entry
into the U.S — with U.S.
employers responsible for the
cost of travel, housing and per
diem.
Additionally, the vacci-
nation requirements would
limit the availability of H-2A
workers.
“With the safety measures
put in place recently regarding
testing within a day of travel,
these workers can safely enter
the United States and be vac-
cinated here with a CDC-ap-
proved vaccine, ensuring the
agricultural workforce is pro-
tected and able to continue
the essential tasks of ensur-
ing the United States supply
chain is functioning,” the
groups said.
Press Association File
A burger cultured from animal cells. The National Cattle-
men’s Beef Association says it should be labeled ‘lab grown.’
The emerging industry prefers ‘cultivated.’
men’s association nor the
startup companies supported
“cultured.” The cattlemen said
the word suggested some-
thing for refi ned tastes. Upside
Foods said dairy products
already used “cultured.”
The two sides also opposed
“synthetic.” The word implied
an enhanced product, accord-
ing to the cattlemen. The alli-
ance for innovation said the
word suggested products from
imitation animal cells, not real
ones.
The sides agreed that
“clean” was poor because it
implied competitors’ products
were unclean.
Terms such as “fake meat,”
“artifi cial meat” or “faux meat”
are decried by the startup
industry as terms intended to
turn off consumers.
The cattlemen’s associa-
tion said it supported “artifi -
cially grown” as an alterna-
tive, but said “lab grown” was
an “unambiguous description
of these products.”
The cattlemen’s associ-
ation and the startup indus-
try agree, based on separate
consumer surveys, that “cul-
tivated” is a fairly appetizing
way to describe protein from
animal cells.
The cattlemen’s association
tried out six terms on consum-
ers. While “cultivated” was
the most appetizing, “cell-cul-
tured meat” was the least appe-
tizing, slightly less appealing
than “in-vitro meat.”
The cattlemen’s associ-
ation, however, says “culti-
vated” was the worst term at
identifying where the meat
was raised.
According to survey results
sent to the USDA, 25% of the
respondents thought “culti-
vated meat” was raised on a
farm or ranch. Other terms
were less confusing, though
13% thought “lab-grown
meat” was raised on a farm or
ranch.
The alliance for innova-
tion counters that the new
protein products will be
made in facilities that do
not resemble laboratories.
The terms “lab-grown” or
“lab-based” are “false, mis-
leading and intended to be
derogatory,” according to the
alliance.
The alliance also argued
that “cultivated” best refl ects
how products are made.
According to to alliance,
“‘Cultivator’ is a term many
companies use to refer to bio-
reactors where cellular agri-
culture takes place.”
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Our lineup of Ag events in the Northwest is growing! The inaugural Central
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From our farm to yours,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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